This invention relates generally to gas turbine engines and more particularly to the repair of turbine nozzle segments used in such engines.
A gas turbine engine includes a compressor that provides pressurized air to a combustor wherein the air is mixed with fuel and ignited for generating hot combustion gases. These gases flow downstream to a turbine section that extracts energy therefrom to power the compressor and provide useful work such as powering an aircraft in flight. Aircraft engines typically include stationary turbine nozzles that enhance engine performance by appropriately influencing gas flow and pressure within the turbine section. In multi-stage turbine sections, turbine nozzles are placed at the entrance of each turbine stage to channel combustion gases into the turbine rotor located downstream of the nozzle. Turbine nozzles are typically segmented around the circumference thereof with each nozzle segment having one or more vanes disposed between inner and outer bands that define the radial flowpath boundaries for the hot combustion gases flowing through the nozzle. These nozzle segments are mounted to the engine casing to form an annular array with the vanes extending radially between the rotor blades of adjacent turbine stages.
Various approaches have been proposed for manufacturing nozzle segments. In one common approach, the nozzle segment is a multi-piece assembly comprising an inner band, an outer band and one or more vanes, each of which is individually cast. Both the inner and outer bands are provided with slots into which the ends of the vanes are brazed in place to form the nozzle segment assembly. Another common approach is to integrally cast the nozzle segment. That is, the vanes, inner band and outer band are all formed together as an integral, one-piece casting.
Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. For instance, one drawback to the multi-piece approach arises from the fact that nozzle segments are ordinarily mounted to the engine casing at the outer band only, with the vanes and inner band being essentially cantilevered into the hot gas stream. Consequently, the highest mechanical stresses in the nozzle segment occur at the vane-to-outer band interface, which in a multi-piece assembly is a braze joint whose strength is generally inferior to that of an integrally cast interface. The multi-piece nozzle segment can also be more expensive to produce. Thus, many nozzle segments are integrally cast.
Nozzle segments are exposed during operation to a high temperature, corrosive gas stream that limits the effective service life of these components. Accordingly, nozzle segments are typically fabricated from high temperature cobalt or nickel-based superalloys and are often coated with corrosion and/or heat resistant materials. Furthermore, nozzle segments are ordinarily cooled internally with cooling air extracted from the compressor to prolong service life. Even with such efforts, portions of the nozzle segments, particularly the vanes, can become cracked, corroded, and otherwise damaged such that the nozzle segments must be either repaired or replaced to maintain safe, efficient engine operation. Because nozzle segments are complex in design, are made of relatively expensive materials, and are expensive to manufacture, it is generally more desirable to repair them whenever possible.
Existing repair processes include techniques such as crack repair and dimensional restoration of airfoil surfaces. However, such existing repairs are limited by local distortion and under minimum wall thicknesses, which are exceeded as a result of repeated repair and chemical stripping processes. Thus, nozzle segments may become damaged to the point where they cannot be repaired by known repair processes. The thermal and mechanical stresses in integrally cast nozzle segments are such that it often occurs that the inner band is repairable while other nozzle segment structure is non-repairable. Thus, to avoid scrapping the entire nozzle segment in such a situation, it would be desirable to have a method for salvaging the repairable portion of the nozzle segment.
The above-mentioned need is met by the present invention, which provides a method of repairing a turbine nozzle segment having at least one vane disposed between outer and inner bands. The method includes separating the inner band from the nozzle segment, and joining the inner band to a newly manufactured replacement casting having an outer band and at least one vane. The replacement casting includes a mounting platform formed on one end of the vane and a boss formed on the mounting platform. A collar is joined to the inner band and has a slot formed therein. The boss is then inserted into the slot, and the mounting platform is received in a recess formed in the inner band. Joining is completed by joining the boss to the collar and the mounting platform to the inner band.
The present invention and its advantages over the prior art will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings.